Process of making abrasive elements



Dec. 6, 1938. J. E. POWELL' PROCESS OF MAKING ABRASIVE ELEMENTS Filed Jan. 28, 1955 www John E. Powell Patented bec. 6, I19938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE National Poultry Equipment Co.,

Seattle,

Wash., a corporation of Washington Application January 28, 1935, Serial No. 3,776

2 Claims.

My invention relates to egg cleaning machines of the general character disclosed in Patent No. 1,964,295, and in Patent No. 2,018,967, issued October 29, 1935, to E. E. and V. C. Miller and J. E.

Powell, of which latter patent this present appli cation is a division. The present application 1s directed particularly to the method of forming loops of abrasive covered material for use in such machines, and to the method of forming the preliminary product, a tube of abrasive-covered material, from which such loops are made.

Itis an object of the present invention to provide a method whereby such loops and the tubes from which they are made can be manufactured icheaply, easily and in such a way that the resulting loop will be equally strong throughout, equally stiff throughout, properly weighted to remove dirt from the egg quickly, yet without damage to the egg, and evenly weighted all the way around, since they are subjected to centrifugal force, and will have no weak joint which may project from the general contour of the loop, or from which, upon repeatedly striking the surface of an egg, an end may be turned loose, thus rendering the loop unbalanced, likely to damage the egg, and thereby uni-lt for further use, before its usefulness, from the standpoint of effective abrasion, is destroyed.

It is also an object to provide a method whereby the loops may be severed from a tube without 3oz damage to the joint, and without dulling the cutting edge by the abrasive.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown how the method constituting my invention can be practiced, and apparatus for carrying out the same, in a manner and by apparatus now preferred by me.

Figure 1 is an elevation illustrating an initial step in the process of manufacture of the abrasive loops.

Figure 2 is a similar elevation of a further step in the process, parts being broken away, and Figure 3 is an end View of the latter step.

Figure 4 is a perspective View of the completed abrasive loop.

Dirty eggs, of which there are a high percentage, are graded down considerably from the price of eggs of the same age and size which are clean. It is scarcely economical to remove the dirt by hand, and washing to clean the eggs injures their ,|39 keeping qualities, and in itself lowers their grade. Dirty eggs thus represent a distinct loss to the poultryman and our invention is designed to produce elements which in a proper machine will remove the dirt in a manner which is not objectionable to the packing houses, and which is convenient, economical and rapid, thus saving the time and energy of the poultryman, yet withal in` a manner to prevent the possibility of injury to the eggs. For instance, the cleaning must be accomplished in a manner which avoids jarring, 5 vibrating or striking the eggs, for it has been found that recurrent vibration, even such as accompanies transportation by steamer, will break down the air cells in certain eggs, and thus Will lower their grade. Obviously, the cleaning must be so accomplished that the shells are not cracked nor checked, yet the eggs must be thoroughly cleaned, not only about their side surface, but the end surfaces as well.

The eggs, as illustrated in the patents referred 15 to above, are cleaned by presenting them to a rotative abrasive element consisting of a rotative cylinder or a similar support whereon are a plurality of loops of abrasive-covered material, which must be light in weight, fairly stif yet iiexiblago and which must he so-'constructed that there is no unevenly distributed weight, no crack or break which is less stiff thanthe remainder of the loop, and which has no edge which by frequent contact with the egg will open up a joint in the loop. The loops must be light in weight and therefore thin, yet they must be strong and tough, and have sufficient inherent stiffness that the sides cannot be drawn together, nor can a sharp abrupt end be formed such as might strike or snap against the shell of the egg.4 To these ends, and for convenience in manufacture, we prefer tok employ two strips of woven cloth orlike material, in which the Weave runs lengthwise and transversely of each strip, as shown in Figure l, both comparatively light in weight and yet by their adherence one to the other supplying sufficient stiifness to prevent the sides of the loop coming together. One of these strips, designated A, is abrasive covered on one side, and the other strip, designated B, is 4o preferably covered on one side with an adhesive, or at least adhesive is interposed between the two strips.

The loops are manufactured from tubes formed by winding these two strips A and B simultaneously and helically upon a mandrel C. Each strip is so wound that its edge abuts the edge of the preceding wrapping of the same strip upon the mandrel, but the strips A and B are oifset one from the other, so that their abutting edges break joint, one with the other. The width of the strips, hence the pitch of the helices formed, is such that, in the narrow loops later cut from the "tubes, the joints of strips A and B lie approximately opposite each other, for proper balance, la

and extend over some appreciable part of their circumferences. The mandrel C preferably rotates to facilitate the Wrapping action, and is preferably heated, either at the time of or after applying the strips A and B, to an extent which causes the adhesive on the strip B to adhere firmly to the under side of the strip A. The strip A may be an ordinary emery-covered cloth strip, and the strip B may be a strip of surgeons tape or adhesive tape. While simultaneous winding of the strips is preferred, it is not outside the scope of my invention to wind them, in this manner, in succession.

According to the step just described there is produced a cylinder or tube of some length formed of a number of turns of these two tapes A and B, one tape overlying the other, and with the weave extending helically. This cylinder, when the adhesive has set, is moved from the mandrel, and is then cut circumferentially into loops. To accomplish this end .we prefer to employ a cutter roll D of smaller diameter than the inside of the cylinder vformed of the tape, over which and over a lshoe E the cylinder is slipped. The roll D has a plurality of longitudinally spaced circumfer-- ential cutting edges. A pressure roller F is then brought into engagement with the outer or abrasive-covered side of the cylinder, whereby the cylinder is rotated, and the shoe E may likewise be moved to tension .the cylinder, thus by pressure between the roller F and the cutter D causing the cutter to out through the cylinder from the inside. This avoids dulling the cutter by the action of the abrasive.

Because of the offsetting of the edges of the strips A and B, the loops when formed have the joint ,in one strip at one side of the loop, and the joint in the other strip at a position considerably removed therefrom. Thus the loop is equally .5 strong and stiff throughout, the two strips reinforce each other when in the finished loop, and while the loop is light and flexible, it has sufficient stiffness to maintain it valways open, even under the influence of centrifugal force as the abrasive element, of which they are a part, rotates. The

diagonal joint in the strip A leaves no edge which will strike the egg at one instant; rather there is a wiping action, and hence there is no tendency to tear the strip A loose from the strip B.

Because the Weave in each ring extends helically, no fraying occurs at the edges, and the joints yextend helically, not in line with the axis. If these joints were in line with the axis there would be a line of weakness here, which would bend under centrifugal force, and tend to strike the egg and to prevent free rotation of each ring with respect to its immediate support, as it wipes across the egg. With helically extending Weave this is prevented, and the stiffness of the ring at the joints is practically identical with its stiffness throughout, hence there is no tendency to depart from the generally rounded contour which the ring assumes under the influence of centrifugal force.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. The process of cutting an unstiffened, flexible tube, exteriorly coated with an abrasive, into rings, comprising inserting within the tube a generally cylindrical cutting member having a plurality of longitudinally spaced circumferential cutting edges, inserting Within the tube and alongside the cutting member a presser member, moving such presser member against one side of the tubes inner wall to support the tube and to move the tube laterally, thus to engage the opposite side of the tubes inner Wall with the cutting edges, placing a cylindrical backing member with its convex surface against the outer abrasive-covered tube wall in the region of contact of the cutting edges, and rotating the cutting member and the backing member, which latter grips the tubes abrasive surface and in turn rotates the tube in contact with the cutting edges, to sever the tube circumierentially and simultaneously into a plurality of rings.

2. The process of cutting an unstiffened, flexible tube into rings, comprising inserting within the tube a circular member of a diameter appreciably less than the internal diameter of the tube and having a peripl'ieral cutting edge, inserting within the tube alongside the cutting member a presser member, moving the presser member against the tubes inner surface, to support the tube and to flex it, to draw its inner surface into intimate Contact with a considerable arc of the cutting edge, placing a backing member in direct Contact with the outer surface of the tube at the region of contact of the cutting edge with the tubes inner surface, pressing together the backing member and the cutting edge to force the latter through the tube into contact with the backing member, and rotating the tube while the cutting edge is being pressed into Contact with the backing member, to sever the tube circumferentially.

JOHN E. POWELL. 

